


let's do it baby, i know the law

by nanaisms (sanhascroissant)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Detention, Enemies to Lovers, Falling In Love, Internalized Homophobia, LGBT: lets get this bread, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan & Mark Lee Are Best Friends, M/M, Rivalry, Sad Na Jaemin, Soft Na Jaemin, nahyuck nation i did it for you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 13:43:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20292415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanhascroissant/pseuds/nanaisms
Summary: Na Jaemin wasn’t the type of person to have a rivalry with anyone. So Donghyuck supposed he was just special.





	let's do it baby, i know the law

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alegro](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alegro/gifts).

> fornana and fornoa again, part two!
> 
> enjoy!

Na Jaemin had never seemed like he would ever be one to have a rival. Na Jaemin stood for sunshine on summer days and pink lemonade, for genuine laughter and kind gestures. Na Jaemin was the type of person to help old ladies across the road, save lost kittens from trees, and help you pick up your books in the hallway if they were ever knocked out of your hands. 

No, Na Jaemin wasn’t the type of person to have a rivalry with anyone. So Donghyuck supposed he was just special.

Donghyuck, unlike Jaemin, _was_ the type to have a rival. He stood for the scream of a motorcycle engine and the smell of leather, for smirks and pointed responses. He was the type of person to enjoy a good joke at someone’s expense, whether it be his own or someone else's, and he was nearly always chewing bubblegum.

Jaemin scoffed at him for that. “Why the hell are you always chewing bubblegum?” He’d said one morning before class. He leaned against the opposite locker, looking Donghyuck up and down. “It doesn’t make you look cool, and chewing gum is against school policy.”

“Maybe I just like bubblegum, Na,” Donghyuck said, slamming his locker shut. The beginnings of a smirk began pulling up on the corner of his lips. “And I’m not trying to look cool. I’m just living my life. Why are you so obsessed with me?” Jaemin had drawn back like he’d been burned, disgust plain as day on his face. He’d crossed his arms and huffed.

“I am _not_,” He’d said, and stomped away to his first class, Donghyuck’s laughter echoing after him. 

Donghyuck had once overheard Lee Jeno ask Huang Renjun as he passed Donghyuck in the hallway,

“Renjun, what are Donghyuck and Jaemin even rivals in?”

“Foolish question,” Renjun had said, rolling his eyes. “They’re rivals in everything.”

What Renjun said was admittedly true. He and Jaemin made everything a competition, from who arrived first at the school to who had a higher word count on their essays. Jaemin had even once said in a fit of anger that at least he beat Donghyuck in height. Donghyuck had never wanted to punch another person more than he had in that moment.

“At least my ego isn’t bigger than yours, Na,” he’d quipped, drawing a scandalized gasp from Jaemin. 

The two of them were both popular for their own reasons. Jaemin, because he was sweet and genuinely kind, and to be honest, hard not to love. Donghyuck, for his wit and his cool exterior, the way he didn’t fit the status quo, and maybe also a little bit because of his association with Jaemin. They would both receive letters on Valentine’s day from admirers but in typical Jaemin and Donghyuck fashion, rather than reading them and treasuring them, they compared numbers, turning even that into a competition. 

Jaemin had gone to each of his admirers and thanked them after his victory against Donghyuck had been secured. Donghyuck didn’t really bother. He wasn’t the kind of person to lead anyone on, and he wouldn’t even indulge those girls by going to speak with them. They’d never be who he really wanted to be with, and he couldn’t bring himself to want to willingly explain to them the reason. Once he got a boyfriend they’d figure it out. If he got a boyfriend before he moved again, that is. 

In this repressed small town, Donghyuck guessed that his best chance may have been Na Jaemin, but Na Jaemin was so thoroughly in the closet that he may as well be in Narnia. 

Donghyuck supposed he was an idiot for making Na Jaemin, class sweetheart of all people, his rival. But he just couldn’t help himself: Jaemin was too fun to tease. The way he’d pout and stick out his bottom lip, crossing his arms in protest was adorable, and Donghyuck was self-aware: he knew that he was maybe, a little bit, attracted to Na Jaemin.

Not that it mattered, since just Donghyuck’s presence was enough at this point to set Jaemin’s blood on fire for all of the wrong reasons. 

It had all started when Donghyuck moved schools from one repressed small town to the next and began attending Jaemin’s high school. Donghyuck quickly heard the rumors that Na Jaemin was the school’s shining heartthrob, the desire of all the ladies, yet he never dated any of them, turning them down with soft apologies and a kind smile, telling them it wasn’t their fault, but he just couldn’t feel the same way. 

Donghyuck had, needless to say, been quite intrigued. Was the Na Jaemin of the rumors the same as the Na Jaemin in real life? Short answer: Yes. 

Long answer: No. The Na Jaemin of the stories was picture perfect, and in real life while Na Jaemin was just as kind and thoughtful as his rumors said, he was not picture perfect. Bringing out that rougher side of him swiftly became Donghyuck’s favorite thing to do to, and the fastest way to do it was by making everything with Na Jaemin a competition.

Because when Na Jaemin was angry or competitive, he felt so much more _real_. His kindness was not a facade, no, but it seemed impossible that Jaemin could be so kind all the time and not get tired, upset, or just plain _hurt_ by the way that people never reciprocated in kind. Donghyuck saw frustration in Jaemin, a desperation to be liked by everybody, and he was more than happy to give Jaemin an outlet to express some of that frustration. 

Donghyuck had been there too, two or three repressed small towns ago. He knew what it was like to try to be Na Jaemin. Admittedly, Na Jaemin was more naturally suited to it than Donghyuck had ever been, but Donghyuck was certain that it was stifling nonetheless to hide part of who you were. 

Maybe Donghyuck was being presumptuous. There was no way to know if Jaemin really was the same as him and Donghyuck wasn’t really an asshole: he’d never prod at Jaemin with that. But there was something in the way Jaemin carried himself with caution, as though if he moved too quickly the mask might slip, that Donghyuck was achingly familiar with. 

So rather than calling him out on it, Donghyuck gladly poked fun at him all day long and gave Jaemin a reason to be angry and express all of those feelings that he normally wouldn’t for the sake of his image. 

It was a win-win, because as Donghyuck may have mentioned, Na Jaemin was hot as hell when he was angry. 

But Donghyuck’s entire life didn’t revolve around Jaemin, contrary to popular belief. Outside of school Na Jaemin barely ever crossed Donghyuck’s mind, and when he didn’t have a class with him, Donghyuck was too busy trying to just graduate to focus on Na Jaemin and his annoyingly attractive face. But all of that changed after he got his second detention of the year.

“Lee Donghyuck!” Mrs. Han’s voice was piercing as always. “Is that chewing gum in your mouth?” 

“Yes,” Donghyuck said, and popped another bubble. Mrs. Han went red with anger, knuckles whitening around her ruler.

“Chewing gum is against school policy,” She said, and Donghyuck could swear he could hear her grinding her teeth from all the way in the back of the classroom. She pointed to the trash can. “Throw it out.”

“No?” He said. “I paid good money for this.” Mrs. Han frowned and hissed out,

“Fine then. Detention. You’ll serve it after school today. See me after class for your detention slip.”

So Donghyuck trudged to the detention room after school, his backpack slung over his shoulder. He didn't really mind serving detention, but it was a bore that he had to stay late on a Friday for this. The school hallways were nearly empty, the last few students on their way out, chatting with their friends. Donghyuck could hear the doors closing behind people, even saw a teacher locking up and heading out. It was a little depressing that Donghyuck was going to be the last student on campus.

So imagine his surprise when he entered the detention room and there, in all his goody-two-shoes glory, was Na Jaemin himself. 

“Na Jaemin.”

Jaemin jumped and looked up from his schoolwork, a smile already halfway across his face before he saw Donghyuck. The smile fell.

“Lee Donghyuck.”

“Never pegged you for the type to get detention,” Donghyuck said, tossing his bag down and sliding into the desk beside Jaemin’s. Jaemin was stock still, back ramrod straight. A muscle twitched in his jaw.

“We’re the only two in here. You couldn’t have chosen another desk?”

Donghyuck grins and shakes his head, blowing a bubble. “Nah. No fun in that.” He leans forward. “Besides, this is your first detention, right?”

“Yeah, and what about it?” Jaemin snaps back. Donghyuck grins wider raising his hands in a shrug.

“Nothing much. But this is my second detention. So.” Donghyuck leans closer and singsongs. “I’m beating you!”

Jaemin looked furious and opened his mouth to reply when the poor teacher saddled with Friday afternoon detention came in the room, eyes tired, and said, monotone,

“No talking.” Jaemin frowned and sank back into his seat arms crossed, signature pout on his lips. Donghyuck couldn't help but feel smug. He won this round.

When the detention ended, he and Jaemin packed up and left without a single word to each other, so Donghyuck foolishly believed that to be that. He should’ve known better. Na Jaemin would never let him get away with winning anything, even if it was the number of detentions served.

The next day, Donghyuck heard the whisperings that Jaemin got detention for the second time in a row and he could feel his blood beginning to boil. Oh, so he thought he’d beat Donghyuck that easily? Not a goddamn chance. 

So when Donghyuck popped his gum extra loudly in Mrs. Han’s class that day, and received the shrill “DETENTION!” he took it with a smile and a small “thanks,” leaving Mrs. Han fuming at her desk. 

Jaemin hadn’t looked happy about Donghyuck showing up to detention again, thwarting his plans for victory. 

“Not going to beat me that easily, Na!” Donghyuck said as Jaemin practically vibrated with antagonism beside him.

“Watch me,” he’d hissed, and _oh_, it was _so_ on. 

A few days in detention became a week, and then two, and Donghyuck was starting to get worried that they were going to be suspended. In all that time only one or two other kids had shared the room with them, and Donghyuck, after spending so much time alone in silence with Na Jaemin and only a variety of different teachers for company, began to notice some things.

Around their third detention, Donghyuck noticed that Jaemin would tap his pencil sharply on the side of the desk at random times. Maybe it was because he got stuck, maybe it was just for the comfort of some sound in the silence of the room, or maybe it was for another reason entirely that Donghyuck didn’t understand. Jaemin’s forehead was furrowed, his eyelashes long and soft, highlighted against the honey golden skin of his cheeks when he looked down. 

After six detentions, Donghyuck noticed that Jaemin would press his lips together when he concentrated, making them flush pink, and then let them fall apart. His mouth would stay open as he paused his writing to think, his tongue running across his teeth. He would close his mouth and smile and the cycle would repeat itself. Donghyuck found himself captivated by how he could see the way that Jaemin thought written in the smallest of his actions. 

After seven detentions, Donghyuck noticed that Jaemin’s pink hair, while pretty in normal lighting, dripped over his forehead in breathtaking rose gold in the afternoon sunlight that came streaming through the classroom windows an hour or two before sunset. When he first saw it, it robbed his breath from his chest and he pushed the feeling down, because this was _Na Jaemin_, his _rival_. He couldn’t be feeling _this_ for _Na Jaemin_.

After the eighth detention, they were standing up to leave as always, the teacher leaving the moment he could. When the door swung shut behind him Donghyuck pulled his bag up onto his shoulder and made to leave, but he was stopped by Jaemin’s fingers around his wrist.

“Na, what do you want -” He turned exasperated, and Jaemin stood, his eyes boring into Donghyuck’s own.

“If you want to, say no now. God, I love the way you look when you chew gum, the way your smile tilts up on one side, the way you wear leather boots and jackets like they were made for you alone to wear.” He took a step closer and breathed, “Lee Donghyuck, you drive me insane,” and then his lips were on Donghyuck’s. 

Donghyuck let out a sound of surprise but melted into the kiss, Jaemin’s fingers still circling his wrist. They broke away, and Donghyuck could feel his mind already beginning to spin.

_Na Jaemin kissed me. Na Jaemin kissed me in an empty classroom. Na Jaemin. Na Jaemin and me, we kissed. _

“I -” Jaemin blinked, clearly coming back to himself. Donghyuck took Jaemin’s hand in his and watched as fear and confusion bloomed across Na Jaemin’s face and sucked the color from his skin like poison. Donghyuck felt the tears that wanted to come because he knew what was about to happen before it did.

Jaemin tore his hand from Donghyuck’s. He stumbled backwards, his breaths shallow. “I don’t know what that was,” he said, but Donghyuck knew that he did know. After all, he had. 

“This was a mistake.” Jaemin’s voice, quiet and horrified, shook as he said it.

Donghyuck met Jaemin’s eyes, his voice was strong when he responded. “It wasn’t.” 

Jaemin sucked in a breath and for a moment they faced one another, the classroom silent besides their breathing, Donghyuck’s deep and even and Jaemin’s harsh and quick. Jaemin moved first, snatching his bag from the ground beside his desk and storming past Donghyuck to the door. He paused, turned back. 

“This never happened, Lee,” he snapped, shoulders tensed. His voice softened and his face fell into something like an apology. “I… I’m sorry.”

The door fell shut behind him, the sound echoing through the classroom. Donghyuck stood motionless in the middle of a sea of desks and closed his eyes. It was his own fault, really. He’d known exactly where Jaemin had been on the accepting yourself journey that Donghyuck himself had recently completed, and he’d still let him kiss him. 

Donghyuck shook himself and picked up his bag slowly before following Jaemin out the door. 

He didn’t even bother trying to get detention the next day, foolishly thinking that had been the end of he and Na Jaemin’s rivalry and acquaintanceship. So imagine his surprise when a day after that, Donghyuck approached his locker and Na Jaemin was already there waiting for him. He sighed and started to unlock his locker.

“What do you want, Jaemin?”

“You weren’t in detention yesterday,” Jaemin said, smug, and if there was one think Donghyuck never expected Jaemin to say, that was it. “We’re tied now.” 

Donghyuck blinked in disbelief. “You _cannot_ be serious.”

“Listen, I play fair, so I just thought I’d remind you the competition is still on.” Jaemin smiled sweetly and turned to leave, waving back over his shoulder. “Hope I don't see you tomorrow!”

Donghyuck tells himself that Jaemin will _not_ see him tomorrow, that he doesn’t hate himself enough to start this whole cycle all over again. 

Apparently, Donghyuck was wrong, because the very next afternoon he was sinking back into the desk beside Na Jaemin, who looked positively thrilled that he showed up. To Donghyuck’s delight, an hour later his tongue was down Na Jaemin’s throat in an empty classroom. 

It wasn’t long before they stopped bothering with waiting for detention. Soon he was meeting up with Jaemin during passing periods, skipping class to hide together under the bleachers, and waiting for hours until Jaemin’s soccer practice was over just to they could kiss in the dark on the soccer field. 

There was something about Na Jaemin that drew Donghyuck to him like a moth to flame. Maybe it was his kindness, the way he always asked before leaning in to press his lips against Donghyuck’s. Maybe it was his beauty, the way his hair fell against he forehead and the way he smiled like he could see into Donghyuck’s very soul. Maybe it was his story, the way Donghyuck saw himself in Jaemin, could feel the aching pain that still swirled behind Jaemin’s eyes. Maybe it’s not opposites that attract, but birds of a feather who flock together. In a way, he and Jaemin were both.

Was it probably toxic, the way that they snuck around in the shadows and shied away from the truth of what they were doing? Yes, and Donghyuck didn’t care. 

“God, I love your eyes,” Jaemin once whispered to Donghyuck in a storage closet, their breaths mingling in the small space. Donghyuck bit back a retort.

_But I only ever see you in the dark. _

Still, Donghyuck had no illusions of grandeur for his and Jaemin’s relationship. He knew Jaemin’s type, hell, he’d _been_ Jaemin’s type. Regardless of anything else, Jaemin was a damn good kisser, and Donghyuck wanted to have some fun before he inevitably was forced to leave this town behind like the countless others before it. So he let it continue on unchecked, Jaemin shoving him into empty hallways and dark classrooms at every opportunity. 

Still, Jaemin and he remained separate. School became _Jaemin time_ by the virtue of school being the only place he ever saw Jaemin, and after school and on the weekends Donghyuck continued his life unaffected by Jaemin’s pearly smiles and anxious kisses. He worked the weekends at his dad’s shop, went to the lake with Mark and his other friends, and didn’t say a single word about Jaemin to anybody. 

One Sunday night as the sun set over the lake, Mark turned to Donghyuck knowingly and said, “There is someone, isn’t there?”

Donghyuck didn’t say anything, his eyes fixed on the pinks and oranges of the sunset spreading out across the sky. His eyes were drawn to the pinks, searching unconsciously even then for Jaemin. He sighed.

“Yeah, but it’s not serious or anything.” Donghyuck frowned and looked down at his hands. 

“Don’t even lie to me, bro,” Mark said, and scoffed. “Whoever he is, he’s an asshole.”

Donghyuck thought of Na Jaemin with his kind eyes and his desperate desire to help anyone who may need it and snorted. “You couldn’t be more wrong. He’s disgustingly nice.”

“Man, I don’t care what he does for other people. He’s clearly an asshole to _you_, and that’s all I really care about.” Mark shook his head. “Just because you understand guys like him doesn’t mean you have to indulge them. They need to figure it out for themselves. I’m your oldest friend and I know you, Hyuck. He’s using you and you know it. You’re letting him. Why?”

“I don’t know.” Donghyuck looked out over the lake and he pulled his legs to his chest. His boots were scuffed with dirt from the shoreline. “He’s just so captivating, and I can see who he’s going to be one day. I guess I just want to be with him.”

Mark sighed, and when Donghyuck turned to him his eyes were fixed on the water. “You’re in love with a version of him that may never exist, Hyuck,” Mark said. “If he’s really worth the wait, then you can wait, nobody’s stopping you. You’re not going to be able to travel that path with him. You of all people should know that the path he’s on right now is one that can only be traveled alone.”

Donghyuck hated the stinging truth in Mark’s words, hated his even tone, hated how good of a friend Mark was being for telling him this. He put his chin on his knees. He swallowed and watched the water lap at the shore. 

“You’re holding both him and yourself back, Hyuck,” Mark said, voice quiet and pleading. “He’ll never end it, so you know that you have to.”

Donghyuck felt his eyes sting with unshed tears. “I know,” he said. “Maybe I just didn’t want to let go just yet.” The tears slipped out and spilled down his cheeks until he could taste the salt. Mark just sighed and pulled Donghyuck into him, an arm wrapping around his shoulders. 

Donghyuck ended whatever he was doing with Jaemin the next day, ignoring Jaemin’s questions and pleading for Donghyuck to stay. 

“I can’t do this to myself or to you, Jaemin,” Donghyuck had just said, simply. “You have to figure yourself out. Once you do, I’ll still be here.” 

He left the same way he came, slipping out of the classroom with a quiet click.

Months passed and Jaemin vanished from Donghyuck’s life as swiftly as he had come. They passed in the hallways as though they were strangers, but every time Donghyuck caught a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye his heart stopped in his chest. Every time he was alone in a classroom for lunch and he heard the door begin to open he hoped. But ultimately, Donghyuck gave up, and began to find happiness and have fun in new ways, ways that didn’t involve Na Jaemin. 

One Saturday when Donghyuck was working in his dad’s shop, the bell jingled. He looked up and there in the doorway was Na Jaemin, framed by early morning sunlight, a smile on his face.

“Hi Donghyuck,” He said, and Donghyuck felt his heart begin to bubble over with excitement, leaping up in his chest. “I think I found myself.”

“You did?”

Jaemin nodded, his smile brilliant. “The first thing he said when I found him was to go and find you and tell you that out here in the sunlight, your eyes are much, much prettier.”

Donghyuck smiled. “Well, how about that. Na Jaemin proves he really is Na Jaemin.”

“We may have taken a break,” Jaemin said seriously, “But we’re still rivals, so I want to propose a competition, and I’m pretty sure I’ll win.”

Donghyuck raised an eyebrow. Jaemin grinned. 

“Let’s go out, and I’ll prove that I’m the better boyfriend.”

Donghyuck slammed his hand down on the counter and stood, blood on fire. “Like hell you’ll be the better boyfriend. Let’s do it baby, and get ready to lose.”


End file.
